(on hold) Angeli Oscuri

ᴘʀᴏʟᴏɢᴏ

Rapina Al Louvre

Paris, France

♛

Third-Person POV:

"IT'S ALMOST TIME. Once Gabriel and Édouard confirm their positions by the entrance, you can get out."

"Grazie a Dio, non sento più le gambe," Marcella sighed, resisting the urge to uncurl her legs–kicking the others in her way. Desperate to relieve the serious cramping in her muscles after being squashed into such a tight space for so long.

Thank God, I can't feel my legs. –

"There could be guards loitering in any blind spots, so be careful. We don't need the entire thing being blown before you're even out of the room." The heavy English accent forewarned through the mic, her words critical–leaving no room for messing around.

"Yes, yes. Comprediamo."

We understand. –

There was a profound silence for the next minute or two, although it felt like longer. The four sat focused, awaiting their next instructions. Every one having been fabricated and thought out thoroughly over the prior weeks.

Marcella averted her gaze from a random spot on the slaty grey wall by her cousin's head. Whose usual unruly curls had been tamed back into a bun, showing off her natural olive toned face and the cluster of light freckles dotted over her bare skin.

Feeling eyes on her, Liona looked up towards Marcella with a peculiar expression. Being around each other pretty much their entire lives, the pair had learned to read one another so well that in situations such as this one, no words were necessary. So when Marcella quirked a brow in an unspoken communication, her icy grey eyes briefly flashing with uncertainty, Liona easily interpreted the look on her face, acknowledging the gesture with a reassuring nod of her head.

A faint intake of air returns all of their attention back to their ear pieces. All of them unintentionally holding their breath as they await their friend's next command.

"It's time."

And with those two words, Akilah spun around, immediately working on cracking open the small square vent. All the while, Liona, Marcella and Fia shuffled their awkwardly positioned bodies in the opposite direction, giving their friend enough space to turn around and slip out through the small outlet - dropping to the floor beneath with a barely audible thud. The others followed her out shortly after. In the meantime, Akilah picked the lock from the inside of the individual fancy looking restroom.

"Are you out?"

"Sì," Liona confirmed for them as they filed out into the main area.

Walking up to the counters, they each took their place behind a sink basin. Concurrently wrapping the identical black cloth tightly over the bottom half of their faces, throwing their matching hoods up in the process - hands already clad in thick black gloves. It was a routine they had done many times before.

"I've overridden most of the security in the Denon Wing. Video surveillance will display pre-recorded footage for anyone watching through the CCTV. Motion detectors and vibration sensors have been disabled on and around the exhibits, still, avoid straying from the nuclear areas as much as possible. Stay in your wing, otherwise you'll be setting off alarms like it's World War three."

"The staircase is right next door, so you should be good until you get to the top and onto the first floor." Lanna finished briefing them.

Every detail of their mission had been virtually embedded into their brains already, but they knew their friend had to confirm everything she could for her own peace of mind, and theirs.